Sesshoumarou's Heart
by Rruhshadow
Summary: Sesshoumarou finds a strange necklace which strips him of his demonic powers. An unusual woman then puts his heart to the test to determine whether or not he deserves the honor of continuing to hold his father's sword, Tensaiga.


**This is my first Inuyasha fanfiction. It takes place around episode 115 or so. Also, it would be a great help if you could tell me anything that would help make it more like the Japanese show, since I only have access to the English dubbed version. I used "youkai" a few times, but I'm not so sure about other words. I want it to feel more like the Japanese version.**

**Anyways, I hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I own no part of Inuyasha.**

**Sesshoumarou's Heart**

A warm breeze blew ripples across the meadow of wildflowers beneath the pleasantly warm sun. Rin skipped out of the trees, humming happily to herself. Suddenly she stopped and clapped her hands together.

"Oh! They're so pretty!" she exclaimed and leaped into the waist high flowers. Jaken emerged just behind her, puffing, and pulling Ah-Un along behind him by the reins.

He called out, "Rin! Come back here at once!" Rin, who had leaned down to pick the flowers, straightened up and waved to the imp.

"Master Jaken!" she called lifting up a sparse bouquet. "Do you think Lord Sesshoumarou will like these?" Jaken stopped at the edge of the wood and snorted.

"Don't be ridiculous Rin! A great lord like Sesshoumarou has no need for such things." Rin frowned for a moment, but it quickly passed. A wide grin returned to her face.

"I think he'll love them!" she said happily and resumed picking flowers. Jaken sighed and led Ah-Un into the flowers.

_"Silly girl."_ he thought, pushing aside multicoloured flowers. He reached Rin and pulled up the large, two-headed youkai. He looked at the young girl and pursed his lips. _"I still don't understand why Lord Sesshoumarou bothers with her."_

* * *

A stray branch slapped Sesshoumarou's face as he walked through the forest. Annoyed, he swatted it aside.

He had traveled around Mount Hakurei countless times already and still he could find no way past the irritating barrier. Naraku was so close; Sesshoumarou knew he must be in the sacred mountain, and yet he could not pass through the barrier that ringed Mount Hakurei or else suffer the consequence of being purified.

Frustrated, Sesshoumarou turned his back on the mountain and headed back the way he had come. He had already been away from Rin too long, and the Band of Seven still prowled these lands. Jaken was no use in protecting her from the un-dead mercenaries. He would not let Naraku or his pawns threaten her life again. He would have to wait.

Suddenly, upon the wind, Sesshoumarou scented another presence. Immediately he stopped and turned his face to the whispering wind. The scent was gone. Silently, he listened. Birds and the blowing of the wind was all he heard. He waited a tense moment. When nothing out of the ordinary occurred, he swiftly struck off again.

Whatever it had been, it had not been the Band of Seven, nor a youkai.

* * *

Sesshoumarou emerged into a flower carpeted clearing. The sun was low in the sky and long shadows stretched across the meadow.

In the center of the clearing Rin sat upon Ah-Un's back—who was dozing—swinging her legs in boredom. Suddenly, she looked up. She spotted Sesshoumarou and a large smile sprang to her face.

"Lord Sesshoumarou!" she cried, startling the youkai she was sitting on, and jumping to the ground. She sprinted over to Sesshoumarou and stood before him, beaming up at his passive face. Casually, Sesshoumarou looked down at the girl. Still smiling, she lifted a large bouquet of wildflowers to up to him. He looked at the colourful petals silently.

"My Lord!" Jaken called, from somewhere amongst the tall flowers. A moment later he tumbled into sight. "My Lord! Did you find anything?" Sesshoumarou glanced down at his retainer. His eyes were wide with hope.

"No." Sesshoumarou said simply, and strode away between Jaken and Rin. Slowly, the girl lowered her gift.

Jaken cursed Naraku and jogged up alongside his master. "What will you do My Lord?" Sesshoumarou was silent for a time. Jaken halted, thinking his master would not speak. Sesshoumarou stopped as well.

"We will set out again early next morning." With that said, he walked off across the meadow and settled himself underneath a large tree, its bark knotted with old age.

Swiftly, the orange sun sank below the tree tops.

* * *

The crack of a branch alerted him. Sesshoumarou's eyes snapped open to the night. A rustle of leaves, louder than those brushed by the wind, sounded in the tree above him. He cocked his claws and leapt away from the tree. He stood away from it and searched the tree's crown for the source of the noise.

Another tiny crack resounded amongst the chirrup of crickets and something winked in the full moon's light as it fell out of the branches. Sesshoumarou stood poised for battle, but nothing else happened. He scented the air. Nothing. Warily, he strode forward, listening closely to the night around him.

He came up to the base of the old tree and looked into the grass and wildflowers. A small, round object caught the moon light upon its smooth surface. Cautiously, he leaned down and picked up the object.

It was a necklace. The fine gold chain trickled through his fingers like water as he held it up in his clawed hand. A flat, round pendant of fiery opal was attached to its length and reflected the moon's light in blazing flashes of green, red, and diamond white.

Curiously, the youkai looked up again at the tree. _"The wind must have dislodged it." _he thought to himself. Not aware of any present danger, Sesshoumarou began lowering himself back to the ground.

Abruptly, blood red light blazed forth from the opal pendant still clutched in his hand, partially blinding him. Surprised, Sesshoumarou dropped it. It fell a distance then stopped, hovering just above the long grass.

Sesshoumarou swiftly returned to his feet and bared his claws. The same scent that he had smelt that afternoon whipped about him like a cyclone. He cocked his head, listening.

Suddenly, the necklace flew at him. Sesshoumarou reflexively tried to jump aside, but it caught him in the throat. His hand flew to his neck and he tried to pull it away, but the gold chain wrapped itself about his neck and clasped itself together. He pulled at the chain, but for all its fineness, he could not rip it off.

Red light poured from the pendant and suddenly a wave of weakness washed over him. He could feel his strength swiftly draining away. Desperately, Sesshoumarou clawed at the chain. Soon, though, his arm dropped to his side and he pitched forward to the ground, unconscious.

* * *

Warm sunlight filtered through the leaves above Sesshoumarou. Slowly, he became conscious again. He became aware of the tiny pebbles that ground into his cheek and, stiffly, he rolled over onto his back. Blinking, he squinted up at the leaves of the old tree. The dappled sunlight hurt his eyes. Slowly, he pushed himself up into a sitting position. His entire body ached.

Suddenly, his eyes flew wide. He grasped for his neck and his skin touched the coolness of the golden chain and opal pendant. He wrapped his fingers around the pendant and pulled with all his strength. His muscles strained, but, as before, he could not remove it. Frustrated, he gave up.

What was the meaning of this?

Aggravated, Sesshoumarou rose swiftly to his feet. Immediately, he fell back against the trunk, his head spinning. Weakly, he slid to the ground. His body ached, his head pounded, and he felt as if he had no strength at all. What had happened to him? He covered his face with his hand and pressed his claws into his skin, but he could not feel his claws.

Slowly, afraid what he would discover, he drew away his hand and looked at it. He had no claws. Fear and panic gripped at his heart. Hastily, he made a fist and stuck his arm out in front of him and stared. His markings too were gone. Eyes wide and beginning to shake, he reached back with his hand and drew forwards a lock of his hair. It was as black as the night sky.

"NO!" he yelled, startling a flock of song birds into flight. This could not be! He bolted to his feet and fought off the spinning in his head.

"Lord Sesshoumarou?" Jaken called anxiously from the middle of the meadow. Sesshoumarou stared at the spot where Jaken's voice had come from. He wanted no one to see him thus.

As quickly as he could, Sesshoumarou wheeled towards the trees, but he did not run for them. A tall woman blocked his path. She was clothed in a deep purple jacket, with a high, stiff collar that was trimmed with grey fur. Sheathing her legs were leggings sewn from a lightly coloured hide. Her shoes too were stitched of the same light leather. He stared at her. She looked at him with a passive face, the dark tendrils of her short hair blowing in the breeze, but Sesshoumarou could see that her yellow eyes reflected an intense satisfaction.

Was this her doing?

"My Lord? My… My Lord!" Jaken cried. Sesshoumarou knew that he had spotted his master's change in appearance. He heard the imp run up behind him. "M-My Lord! Y-your hair! Y-you almost look hu—" Sesshoumarou spun around and silenced him with a swift and ferocious kick. Jaken flew backwards through the air and landed heavily a few strides away.

"Temper Sesshoumarou." Sesshoumarou whirled around to face the woman. She smiled slightly. He glared at her viciously.

_"She must be the cause of this!"_ he thought fiercely. His anger flaring, Sesshoumarou charged the woman. He drew back his arm and struck with his claws. Just before he could touch her, she vanished. Sesshoumarou pulled up short and whirled around, searching for her. He spotted her behind him, a few strides away.

"Indeed you are just like your father." she said calmly, studying the contortions of rage upon his face. "And just as hot-headed as your younger brother, Inuyasha."

"How dare you compare me to him!" Sesshoumarou roared and plunged through the wildflowers towards her. Once again she effortlessly evaded his attack. She appeared to his right and he spun to face her.

"Sesshoumarou, aren't you the least bit curious as to why I'm here?" she asked, gesturing with a hand to the space around them.

"What did you do to me?" he snarled, forcing himself to calm. He realized that he could not harm her as long as he was… He could not bring himself to even think of the word.

"I'm here to test your heart, Sesshoumarou." she stated, gently crossing her arms. Confusion mixed with the rage upon his face. "As a favour to your father for saving my life many, many years ago he has asked me to keep an eye on you." Sesshoumarou bared his teeth. She continued. "He asked me to give you a test to see if you have truly lived up to his expectations." She smiled wryly. "And very high they are."

"What could my father possibly want from me?" he spat. He knew that all he could do was listen to her and he chafed under that.

She tilted her head slightly and looked at him with one thin eyebrow raised. "Why do you think he gave you Tensaiga?" she asked him. Sesshoumarou was slightly taken aback by her question. He recovered quickly though.

He lowered his hand, which had been outstretched in her direction to attack, and drew himself up tall. "He did not want me to have Tessaiga." he stated venomously. "He did not want me to use it against the mortals he held so dear and his half-breed son."

She nodded her head slowly. "That is true, but only part of the truth. Sesshoumarou—" She walked around in front of him and halted. She looked at him for a moment then reached down into the flowers. Rin's small scream rang throughout the clearing. Sesshoumarou tensed.When she straightened, she was holding a struggling Rin under one arm.

"Lord Sesshoumarou!" Rin screamed, wriggling in the woman's grasp. "Lord Sesshoumarou!"

Sesshoumarou shook with rage. _"How dare she!" _his mind yelled, but he did not make a move towards her.

The woman looked at him, her expression flat, and spoke above Rin's pleas. "It is indeed strange that you said what you did. One would think that a youkai as strong as yourself would never wish to align with a mortal, and a young child at that." Sesshoumarou forced himself to stay where he was.

"Release her." he said with as much restraint as he could muster. "She is not a part of this." A smile crept to the woman's lips.

"Oh, but she has everything to do with this." she stated matter-of-factly. She hefted the still struggling Rin higher into her arms. "She is the one who will determine whether or not you pass this test, and whether you will remain worthy of carrying the Tensaiga." Sesshoumarou could think of no reply.

Abruptly, she raised her free arm and heard her wrist crack as she cocked it to the side. A long, thin knife glittered in her hand.

"Sesshoumarou, what is she worth to you?" Rin fell silent at the sight of the knife. Tears began falling quietly down her face. "Was pity the only reason you took her in? Or was there a different emotion as well?" Sesshoumarou could hear the tone of her voice rising. She was going to strike.

All at one, Sesshoumarou took off towards them. He raced forwards and reached out for the girl. He grabbed for her arm, but his hand closed on air. The woman was right beside him. He could feel her breath upon his neck. He wheeled around, whirling his fist like a club to strike her. She disappeared. Sesshoumarou spun off balance, but quickly caught himself.

"Not so easy being human, is it Sesshoumarou?" The youkai faltered as he turned around. "Weak, powerless, too frail to stand up to youkai and powerful spirits…" She raised the knife over her head and lifted Rin up higher. A whimper escaped Rin's lips.

Sesshoumarou's mind was in turmoil. He could not wield Tokijin for fear of harming Rin, and even if he could do so without hurting her, would the evil sword even allow him to?

"Sesshoumarou! Show me your heart!" the woman yelled and drove the knife down in to Rin's body. Sesshoumarou roared and the necklace burst into thousands of pieces with an explosion of red light.

His markings, claws, and white hair returned to him. Sesshoumarou howled and his face projected into a muzzle, his eyes flashing red. He could feel fur rippling from his skin and his muscles growing. He charged forward, rage engulfing him. And then he stopped dead.

His face returned to its usual visage and he looked at the woman, confused. Rin was nowhere to be seen. The woman smiled and gave Sesshoumarou a second of light applause.

"Where is she?" he asked anxiously.

"She was never here." Sesshoumarou stared at her. "It was all part of the test." she explained. "The imp, the girl, and even your appearance of being human were illusions."

Sesshoumarou shook his head, but just barely. "My power—" She cut him off.

"The pendant upon the necklace was created with the blood of your father so that your own demonic powers could be suppressed." Her smile widened. "But not even I could have foreseen that you could destroy the necklace. Your love for that girl is stronger than I thought." Sesshoumarou opened his mouth to protest to such a blatant statement, but she stopped him with her own words. "Your father wanted you to learn compassion, Sesshoumarou. That is why he gave you Tensaiga, not Tessaiga. While your heart is still frozen in ice, it is melting." She smiled gently. "And don't be ashamed of that. Compassion and love will only make you stronger." Sesshoumarou looked at her silently; his face, for the most part, composed. "The imp and the girl will awaken when I leave." He frowned. In answer to this she said, "They are merely sleeping where they were last night." There was silence for a moment, then she bowed her head to him. A moment later, she was gone.

* * *

"L-Lord Sesshoumarou…" Rin said meekly coming up beside him. It was late afternoon and their party was preparing to leave. Sesshoumarou looked down at her and suddenly saw the knife plunge into her tiny body in his mind's eye.

"What is it Rin?" he asked, his voice gentler than usual. She swallowed and hesitantly raised the bouquet up to him.

"I picked you some flowers." she said quietly. For a moment, Sesshoumarou did not move. After a few seconds, Rin began to lower the bouquet. Silently, Sesshoumarou took the flowers from her hands. His lips curved themselves into a slight smile. She looked up at him with surprise, which quickly turned to joy. She smiled up at him for a moment, and then skipped off towards Ah-Un and Jaken, happily humming.


End file.
